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Tokyo, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)--Japan's four major beer companies, suspected of price collusion, kept shipping prices unchanged after the 2023 tax cut of 19 yen per liter of beer, citing higher costs, it was learned on Saturday. Meanwhile, they all implemented a price hike of 20 yen per liter in 2025, according to informed sources. The Japan Fair Trade Commission is investigating a possible...
Tokyo, Oct. 23 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government highlighted the urgent need to fundamentally strengthen the country's energy supply-and-demand structure to prepare for future emergencies in its fiscal 2025 white paper on energy, adopted at a cabinet meeting on Friday. The white paper noted that, in response to the deterioration in the Middle East situation, Japan was the first in the w...
Japan’s key price gauge rose above the Bank of Japan’s target level for the first time this year, supporting the case for a widely expected BOJ interest rate hike in December.
With one eye on her baby in a stroller, Minae Kamata operates an arcade machine in a Tokyo suburb, manipulating a claw to grab not a stuffed toy but a pack of toilet paper. As inflation weighs on Japanese households, huge arcades on the outskirts of major cities are installing claw machines filled with eggs, rice, laundry detergent and other necessities. The “shop-and-play destinations” merge essential buying with entertainment so that families do not feel a choice between bringing home the...
Tokyo, Oct. 22 (Jiji Press)--Japan will switch to a post-departure refund system for consumption tax for travelers from abroad on Nov. 1, following a series of cases in which purchased tax-free goods were resold in Japan at prices including tax. Foreign visitors can currently buy goods at prices excluding the consumption tax at tax-free shops in Japan. Under the new system, which is inte...
An electricity symposium in Tokyo this week was crowded with global investors looking to make money.
BNP Paribas Asset Management has been raising its positions in long-dated Japanese government bonds, attracted by a steep yield curve and signs that domestic demand is returning to the market.
Tokyo, Oct. 22 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government will cut its subsidies for the purchase of eco-friendly vehicles, including electric and fuel-cell vehicles, to 60-80 pct of their current levels next year, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The reduced subsidies will apply to cars registered from Jan. 1. The ministry is expected to temporarily stop accepting subsidy applications a...
Japan and other major iron ore buyers risk becoming price takers as China’s state-backed purchasing company seeks greater influence over how the steelmaking ingredient is priced, according to consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd.
Tokyo, Oct. 20 (Jiji Press)--The personnel commissions of Japan's 47 prefectures have recommended higher monthly salaries and bonuses for prefectural government employees for fiscal 2026, a survey showed Tuesday. It marked the fifth consecutive year that all prefectural commissions have made such recommendations. If the hikes are implemented as recommended, the average annual salary will...
Anna Edwards, Guy Johnson, and Paul Dobson break down today's key themes for analysts and investors on "Bloomberg: The Opening Trade." (Source: Bloomberg)
Japanese investors’ purchases of domestic government bonds climbed to the highest in 17 years in the fiscal first half, a move that some analysts said reflected an attempt by pension funds to rebalance their portfolios.
Rio Times · Asia Intelligence Brief October 19, 2026 — China reports 4.5% Q3 growth and a US$28 billion green-tech export surge; Japan begins Keen Sword drills and PM Takaichi sends Yasukuni offering; Indonesian stocks fall over 5% as haze crisis and MSCI warning converge. The post Asia Intelligence Brief — Monday, October 19, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.
Tokyo, Oct. 19 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government on Monday warned against any move to deny preferential treatment being considered for European vehicles in the European Union to Japanese vehicles. The European Union "should treat products made in Japan on an equal footing with those made in the EU," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference. Germany and France ...
Tokyo, Oct. 16 (Jiji Press)--The average price of rice sold from collectors to wholesalers in Japan plunged 42 pct from a year earlier to 21,293 yen per 60 kilograms of brown rice in September, the agriculture ministry said Friday. The September figure, which reflects transactions for the 2026 crop for the first time, is still the third highest on record, after those in 2024 and 2025. Du...
Japan’s Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co. is maintaining an elevated cash position as a buffer against volatile global markets and concerns about rising government spending in the country.
Tokyo, Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)--A majority in Japan support legislation to cut the consumption tax on food and introduce an income-linked benefit program, a Jiji Press opinion poll showed. The poll found that 55.3 pct of respondents supported the legislation while 37.3 pct opposed it. The legislation is designed to cut the 8 pct consumption tax on food to 1 pct for two years from next April...
Washington, Oct. 14 (Jiji Press)--U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday attributed the selection of a U.S. semiconductor plant construction project for the third batch of Japanese investments in the United States to his "historic" trade deals. The investment deal "is a result of my historic trade deals," Trump said in a social media post after U.S. semiconductor contract manufacturer Glo...
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama warned speculators that she was prepared to take action in the currency market again if needed, after the yen touched its weakest level against the dollar this month following a heating up of US inflation figures.
Rio Times · Asia Intelligence Brief October 14, 2026 — China's September exports rose 36.3% and the trade surplus hit US$133.53 billion, drawing IMF calls for domestic consumption; Japan protested a Chinese delegation's visit to Russian-held Iturup; Taiwan's Hai Kun submarine completed its 24th sea trial. The post Asia Intelligence Brief — Wednesday, October 14, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.
Tokyo, Oct. 14 (Jiji Press)--About 30 pct of Japan's working population, or some 20 million people, may be eligible for a financial aid program that the government aims to introduce alongside a planned consumption tax cut for food, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday. The figure was calculated based on similar systems in other countries, Takaichi told a meeting of the Budget Commit...
A business delegation from northeastern China has visited a Russian-controlled, Japanese-claimed island off Hokkaido to explore joint economic projects, a move that has prompted protests from Tokyo. Officials and business leaders from Heilongjiang province, which borders Russia’s far east, travelled to Etorofu – known to Russians as Iturup – to survey potential investment opportunities, according to the Sakhalin Oblast government, which oversees the island. Etorofu is the largest island in a...
Bangkok, Oct. 13 (Jiji Press)--The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its economic growth projection for Japan to 0.7 pct for 2026, up 0.1 percentage point from its July forecast. The IMF's World Economic Outlook report cited "fiscal support measures partly cushioning the impact from higher energy prices." Japan's growth rate is now expected to be 0.7 pct in 2027, unchanged fr...
Tokyo, Oct. 12 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama will become the next chair of the joint ministerial committee of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced on Monday. Katayama will be the first Japanese national to chair the joint committee, also known as the Development Committee, since its establishment in 1974. T...